Jumia

Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Man faces jail term for attempting to kill Donald Trump during rally in Las Vegas

A 19-year-old man has been charged for trying to grab a
police officer’s gun at a Donald Trump rally in Las Vegas in a bid to kill the
presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

According to a complaint filed in US District Court in
Nevada, Michael Sandford tried to disarm the officer at the June 18 rally at
the Mystere Theatre in the Treasure Island Casino before being overpowered.

It said the young man told a Secret Service agent after his
arrest that he had driven from California to Las Vegas “to kill Trump,” and had
been to a range a day earlier to learn to shoot as he had never fired a gun
before.

"Sandford acknowledged that he would likely only be able to
fire one to two rounds and stated he was convinced he would be killed by law
enforcement during his attempt on Trump’s life," the complaint said.

It said Sandford, who
holds a British driver’s license, told investigators he had purchased tickets
for a rally in Phoenix where he "would try again to kill Trump" in the event
his plan in Las Vegas failed.

Officials would not confirm Sandford’s nationality saying
only that he had told investigators he had been in the United States for about
18 months, and had lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, before traveling to
California.

The complaint said Sandford had targeted officer Ameel
Jacob’s gun because it was in an unlocked position and would be the easiest way
to acquire a gun to shoot Trump.

"Sandford further stated that if he were on the street
tomorrow, he would try this again,” according to the complaint. Sandford claimed he had been planning to attempt to kill
Trump for about a year but decided to act on this occasion because he finally
felt confident to do it."

A spokeswoman at the Las Vegas prosecutor’s office said the
young man was due to appear in court later Monday on a charge of act of
violence on restricted grounds.